David “Chip” Reese
March 28, 1951 – Decmber 4, 2007

David “Chip” Reese died in his sleep early this morning in Las Vegas.  The cause of death has yet to be released, but early reports reveal that he was hospitalized with pneumonia-like symptoms late last night.

Reese was considered one of the greatest cash game players of all time.  He was a regular player in the “Big Game” which features Doyle Brunson, Lyle Berman, and Johnny Chan.

Born in Dayton, Ohio, Reese lived most of his life in Las Vegas, NV.  According to legend, in 1974 on his way out to California to attend law school, Chip stopped in Las Vegas with $400 in his pocket. He started playing low-limit Seven-card Stud. By the end of the weekend, he won first place in a Seven-card Stud tournament, which paid $60,000. He never made it to Stanford. A year passed before he finally told his parents that he did not attend law school and instead, he spent that time as a professional poker player in Las Vegas. He was once quoted saying, “Law doesn’t have the same monetary incentive as poker.”